TIRANA, July 16 – In a joint statement, three MEPs urged the Parliament of Albania to swiftly adopt the 5 June Agreement on Electoral Reform, reminding that without it, there will be no progress on electoral reform.
The statement was released by the Foreign Affairs Committee Chair David McAllister (EPP), the standing Rapporteur for Albania Isabel Santos (S&D) and the Chair of the Parliament´s Delegation for Albania Manolis Kefalogiannis (EPP).
“We expect that the parliamentary majority will adopt the necessary changes without undermining the consensus reached between the Government and the Opposition on 5 June. Any modification of the Agreement without reaching a consensus with all political parties could jeopardize convening the first conference for membership negotiations, and therefore slow down the European integration process”, the statement reads.
Each country is free to set and improve its electoral system according to the national context and consensus. However, best international practices recommend that any changes to the electoral system should be conducted in a comprehensive and transparent manner starting at least one year before the next planned elections, the MEPs stressed.“We believe that Albania will respect these recommendations and will work further towards achieving sustainable results in the key reform areas,” the MEPs stated.
The European Parliament is committed to support Albania on its European integration path and is ready to work with the Albanian Parliament in facilitating dialogue and building consensus on the crucial reforms in the areas of democracy, rule of law and accountability that are necessary for the country’s EU future, MEPs concluded.
